After sitting on the sidelines for a week or so, I think I’m ready to tackle this new thing – with some fear and trembling, I think I’m ready to blog! But it occurs to me that for all of us, it’d be good to consider first what God has to say about this whole blogging thing. ‘But what could God possibly have to say?’ I hear you ask – ‘Blogging is a relatively new phenomenon and the Bible is a very old book’. True, the Bible is an old book, and yet in God’s goodness, he always speaks through it in fresh ways to each new generation and each new situation. So let’s see if we can discern God’s wisdom on what it will mean to ‘blog’ in a biblical and Christian way.

something old

First we need to understand that blogging is just a new way to communicate. Blogging may be new, but communication is as eternal as God himself and so the Bible has a lot to say about the way we use words. Through human authors, God urges that we “speak” with caution (Proverbs 10:19; 12:18 and 21:23), aware of our tendency to sin through words (James 3:5-6). The putting off of our old self, which as we’ve learnt in Romans was a slave to sin, involves a massive change in the way we use words. Have a look at Colossians 3 for example:

rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other since you have taken of your old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator… let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

(Colossians 3: 8-10 and 16-17)

So let’s blog “in the name of the Lord Jesus” – making sure that our contributions are pleasing to him.

something new

Second, we need to consider what is unique about blogging – how it differs from other forms of communication. The 2 key features of blogs are first that they are “moderated” and second (and this is true of much internet communication) posts and comments can be anonymous or, more accurately, “pseudonymous” (using a name other than your own).

Being moderated means that the “owners” of the blog/website have a fair amount of control over what is allowed to appear. Only certain people have the ability to “post” (at this stage, that’s Steve, Wade, Jillian and myself as well as Dave Gray who contributes on technical issues) and comments are filtered (“moderated”) to ensure that they meet some basic standards determined by the “owners” (e.g. no inappropriate language or content, no spam etc.). This degree of control is good to the extent that the “owners” of the blog are trustworthy and wise and will make good decisions about the content approved.

The anonymity of Internet communication is another challenge for Biblical blogging in two ways. On one side of the coin, contributors can choose to conceal their identity. This is unhelpful because it interferes with the Christian goal of open, honest and direct communication. John 3:20 tells us that “everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come in to the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed”. Anonymity on a church website like ours is not good because it makes it impossible for the leaders of the church to exercise Biblical church discipline (e.g. Titus 3:9-10) – the sort of discipline that is necessary to maintain a healthy church. So let’s blog in the light (see below for how)!

On the other side of the anonymous coin, we also need to remember that the internet is a public forum. When you make a comment, you don’t know who’s listening. Would you be happy to shout your comment to a crowded room? That’d be a good question to ask.

so why bother?

The flip side of all this “caution” is that words have great power for good – to heal, to encourage, to spur one another on towards love and good deeds. The gospel itself, is of course God’s “good word” and should therefore always be on our lips, and at our finger tips. The idea of a blog is to stimulate thought and discussion. The idea of our blog is to get our church family thinking and talking more about what we have in common – our allegiance to Jesus Christ and the impact that has on every part of our lives.

how to

So what does all this mean in practice?

If you wish to join in any of the discussions on our website by posting a comment, please observe the following “conventions”:

1. consider whether your words will build up or tear down
2. write under your own name or a pseudonym that clearly identifies who you are
3. make sure that your comment interacts to some extent with the initial blog post and/or with the comments that have arisen from that initial post
4. aim to continue your online conversations face-to-face
5. the blog is a public forum so when you make a comment consider the wider audience, not just the one or two people you may be interacting with at any given time. If you wish to make a more personal comment, it may be more wise (and more fruitful) to do so face-to-face.
6. remember that “outsiders” (Colossians 4:5-6) and “newcomers” may be listening in and so our blog and website are part of our “front door” ministry. Let’s be welcoming in all that we say.

My prayer and hopeful expectation is that if we all abide by these guidelines, our blogging and commenting will have the desired effect – the building up of our church – Christ’s body – in unity and maturity that we might attain “to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).
Please join me in this prayer.